Mcdonalds AD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mcdonalds AD - Essay Example Probably the most common place that most people experience McDonald’s advertisements is the television. I have often seen McDonald’s advertisements on television that are aired between popular programs on various channels. Throughout the entire McDonald’s advertisement experience, the greatest presence is on television. Moreover, McDonald’s also utilises the radio. Both the television and radio advertisements campaigns are distinctly noticeable with the â€Å"I’m lovin’ it† catch phrase in each media. Similarly, McDonald’s has advertisements that are geared towards local newspapers and journals. These advertisements generally display new deals and discounts that are available in the local McDonald’s food chains. Another significant area where McDonald’s advertisement is noticeable are various billboards and signage that can be seen installed on both local roads as well as highways. The billboards on highways are fa r larger and are more distinctly noticeable. Other than this, McDonald’s often advertises itself through sponsoring various local, regional and international events. McDonald’s can be seen sponsoring Little League just the same as it sponsors the Olympic Games. The typical McDonald’s logo is highly noticeable in all these situations through the coolers of drink that they distribute on these events.

Components Of Disaster Management Management Essay

Components Of Disaster Management Management Essay The occurrence of such disasters has continued to increase in a rapid succession. More than three million lives were lost due to disasters in the last quarter of a century itself. This number does not stop as billions have been affected in some way or the other. The cost of rehabilitation from these disasters has run into thousands of billions alone. The increase in the population of the world only enhances the chance of disaster risk which could cause massive casualties and harm to the human life in large numbers. The six billion mark in world population was reached on the 16th of November in 1999. The annual growth rate was estimated at nearly 1.33 %( seventy eight million every year). There is a greater risk on account of the industrialization and vast urbanization since a lot of people are moving to urban areas which do not have sufficient health care and infrastructure in place. Energy is released after accumulation in the volcanic activity or geological faults which cause seismic waves to bring about movement of the crust which is known as an earthquake. Humans are able to only detect three thousand earthquakes from the total of five hundred thousand earthquakes that occur every year. 7 to 11 out of these 3000 earthquakes cause significant damage to property and human life though this figure has increased the past few years. The toll of death due to an earthquake can range from as less as five to higher than two hundred and forty thousand. One out of two cities in a developed country is susceptible to a natural hazard like earthquake. Seventeen of the twenty largest cities are situated in countries with low resources. Eighty percent of the population of the world will reside in developing countries by the year 2025 according to an estimate. The research on natural disasters is of a lot of significance in case of developing countries. What is a Disaster? Many definitions have been put forward regarding disaster. Samuel Henry Prince started the study related to disasters in 1971 in Canada during the worst disaster witnessed in Canada. The disaster in point is the ship explosion occurred in 1917 in the harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia. His research and social exploration of the implications of the disaster paved way for further theoretical and empirical research that lasted through the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. This saw a change in the way disasters were perceived. The focus shifted from the primary physical agent to the description and definition of disasters related to the social impact caused by it. Various academic disciplines were dedicated to the study of nature and disasters during the 1960s and 1970s. The definition of a disaster can be classified between the national and international level. The working definition of a disaster is designed in way to suit the professional background of the place where it is defined and is closely associated to the studies, work and research that is carried out. The World Health Organization has defined disaster on the base of the resultant health implications post the disaster. They have made use of the terminology called as Health Action in Crises. The International Red Cross has taken into account the factors that cause interference in human life. IN simple words, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes only acquire the status of a disaster when they leave behind a negative and disruptive impact on the living force. Al-Madhari et al in 1997 studied if a universal definition for the term disaster is possible and came up with a definition that takes into account both the factors of economic and health implications. The definition was as follows- an event localized in time and space with one or more of the following consequences occur: 1) Ten or more fatalities, 2) Damage exceeds $1 million, 3) 50 or more people evacuated. This is the basic essence that is found in most definitions of disaster which may carry different views. All the definitions accept disaster as a situation that is beyond the cope of control of the local community which warrants the need of external help. The disasters maybe a result of naturally occurring phenomena like extreme changes in climate or weather, technological and man made threats. Psychological stages of disaster Heroic stage The heroic stage is shown by the community and the individuals within that direct the various levels of energy in the tasks of help, rescue, shelter, clean up and repair. This behaviour is carried out in the span of a few hours to even days if required. Honeymoon stage The optimism characterized by the people in the community is the showcase of this stage in spite of the losses that occur due to the disaster. There is a wide media attention and, flow of resources inwards, and reassurances by personal visits by high profile personalities that look towards the rehabilitation process of the community. They provide the hope and belief that life will return to normalcy and no traces of the disaster will be seen. These resources though tend to exhaust by the third week of the aftermath of the crisis, there is reduced media attention and the real problems in the rehabilitation program start to develop. The energy shown by the survivors in the community gradually starts to fade away and gives way to the next stage of disillusionment. Disillusionment The hard experiences, the lack of necessities and the work needed to be done to restore normalcy creeps up on the person which leads to disillusionment among the survivors. Survivors find that the various types of financial help being offered are in the form of loans instead of grant, home insurance was not the best available option and that politics played a bigger role in the decision making. Signs of disgruntlement is how by means of complaints related to abandonment, betrayal and injustice, incompetency and bureaucracy. Stress is a negative aspect that troubles the survivors which slowly disintegrates any hope that may be left. Recovery All the work for which the base has been setup starts to show results. The applications are passed, loans are approved, and reconstruction is started. The individuals start to work at their normal capacities. People start regaining the state of normalcy with a period of six months after the disaster. Some individuals might take up to thirty six months. There is an overall sense of appreciation to aspects like life, relationship and morale towards tackling problems all owed to the lessons learnt post the disaster. Stages of Disaster Response Preparation stage The main objective of this stage is to improve the healthcare system and the general system that can be improved to the extent that future disasters can be tackled with ease and efficiency. Quick Reponses Stage The main objective of this stage is to make sure that there is a prober health response in case of a disaster strike that may create some needs. Counselling is provided during this stage which is present in the current health system. There should be help sought from external sources to boost the resources that are available in case they are not sufficient to fulfil all the necessary needs. In many cases the local supplies may not be enough to meet the requirement of the community which is why the stock has to be filled with the help of some additional commodities obtained from other external sources. Recovery Stage This stage has to be worked upon continuously and lasts more than a month after the disaster takes place. This stage could go on for years depending on the resources that are available for rehabilitation and the impact and type of the disaster. The needs of the survivors are taken care of by the local providers in this stage. Federal funds may flow in case the disaster is declared as a Presidential Declared Disaster. The funding is given to those in need of individual help. Disaster Management Definition of disaster management A lot of definitions have been put forward by authors on the topic of disaster management. A lot of these definitions merely explain the meaning of the term rather than completely stating the terms of preparation for a disaster. Christopolis, Mitchell and Liljelund regarded efficient and effective abilities and result of disaster response as the main themes of preparation for a disaster (2001). Creating a local response system and providing early warnings is also a big part of preparation (Integrated Regional information Networks, 2005). The definitions by United Nations Development program, McEntire and Twigg have definitions similar in theme with their own take on the preparation for a disaster. The program by United Nations holds hazard easing as the central source for disaster preparation along with the inclusion of planning in the description (2004). Similarly, McEntire and Twigg also consider hazard easing as a crucial aspect in disaster preparation saying that it should be a p art of it (McEntire, 2003 and Twigg, 2002). McEntire talks about different factors relevant for disaster preparation as a local government function that includes vulnerability and hazard evaluation. The lesser highlighted aspects of disaster preparation are also very important. Izadkhak and Hosseni point out education to be the foremost media in the preparation of a community for disasters (2005). The emergency plans, storage of food, securing furniture to walls and creating inventories of storage commodities are a part of this level (Paton, Smith, Johnston, 2003 and Siembieda, 2001). Review of preparation literature The disaster preparedness aspect is basically dynamic in nature which keeps changing constantly. The researches find out new facts with the occurring of new disaster even with respect to the community. The disasters and crisis are consistent but the practises applied in its management still lack the capacity to provide necessary results. McEntire has worked towards some crucial points in disaster preparedness and emergency management in his study. McEntire, Fuller and Johnston and Weber (2002) published an article reviewing the emergency management and the methods related to it. The main concern in the 2002 research was vulnerability while McEntire also finished his research related to disaster preparedness. Dynes also provide his view on emergency planning. His views were based on research instead of military models. The problem solving methods of Dynes emphasizes cooperation and coordination as the key aspects. (1994). This concept has been used in developing many other models as opposed to the earlier practice of using military models and instead switching to a research based and discipline specific model. The best methods of disaster preparedness incline towards discipline specific objectives as in the case of emergency management. A valuable amount of work has been spent for the identification and evaluation of the concepts and principles that are used in disaster preparedness. Some contributions have been made to development of disaster preparedness with the aim of creating a theory based practise and practise based theory (Gillespie and Streeter, 1987). The contributions from most individuals are not aimed at the creation of a complete disaster preparedness technique but individual research has helped immensely in making contributions towards building a complete disaster preparedness plan. A case in point is the research by Kirschenbaum (2002) article based on disaster preparedness from the point of view of Israel. The inferences drawn from his study were found to be applicable in a general environment. Perry and Lindell (2003) based their study on disaster management on the principles of perspective and planning and were able to identify 10 guidelines that should be used in the process of planning. Lindell was more focused on the planning while Kirschenbaum gave more importance to localized applications and principles. Each on his own was able to contribute an important aspect that led to the creation of a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan although none of the studies focused on all the aspects on the whole. Components of disaster management Earthquake Risk The risk of earthquake is a seismic risk to the environment and its habitats. The earthquake risk is inversely proportional to the capacity of resisting it. Research based on social learning by May (1994) shows that the more knowledge that is available, the less is the worry and lesser in the rationale for prevention. Knowledge and the use of the knowledge in the best way are required to improve the safety measures today. There is a process known as Earthquake Risk Management that works towards the prevention of threat or danger from an earthquake, reducing risk or consequences of an earthquake. It also deals on topics like preparation for dealing with a disaster, responding to a threat due to natural disaster, capacity building and knowing the effects of the natural disasters. There are the basic points of evacuation, rescuing, relief, rehabilitate and reconstruct that are covered. The population in India was marked at over a billion in 2001 and is estimated to be doubled by the yea r 2050. This calculates to a population growth of 1.61% per annum. The risk of earthquake increases by leaps and bounds in such a scenario. The urban areas are been populated to the extent of being overcrowded and figure in the highest density in the world of 237 people per square kilometre. This only worsens the situation. People in thickly dense areas have no alternative but to live in conditions like low lying areas situated closely near the rivers. This makes it mandatory to keep a full time alert and be ready with a disaster preparedness plan. Gillespie and Banerjee (1993, pp.242) have proposed there is a 5 stage plan which spirals upward with more refined levels including avenues, assessment, knowledge, preparedness and practise. The central point in these levels is considered to be knowledge. As pointed by Srivastava et al (2007), the reduction in disaster risks can be brought about by the proper use of information. Disaster management planning for earthquake In the past few decades, a high level of importance has been attached to the effective and efficient management of information and its use as a key component of disaster management in the regions of Asia especially Pacific Asia. Disaster management information systems have been setup by a number of countries according to their own calculations and needs. The applications include early warnings, reduction of disaster risks and emergency planning. The information plays an important part in disaster management and it should be used wisely. The needs of the information related to disaster management can be classified in two activity categories Pre disaster activities like research and analysis, prevention, risk assessment and preparedness. Post disaster activities like rehabilitation, response and reconstruction. The data related to disaster can also be classified into two categories- Pre disaster data consisting of the risks and the country Post disaster data showing the impact of the disaster and the resources available to counter the effects. National Disaster Management Information System The main aspects of a disaster management information system is a database containing the following- Mapping of hazard assessment Vulnerability Assessment Distribution by Demography Lifelines, Infrastructure and Critical Facilities Transportation Routes and Logistics Material and Human Response Resource Communication Facility The use of Disaster Management Information System is based on three aspects- Preparedness planning Response and mitigation Recovery Earthquake activities Preparation and Planning Identifying areas prone to earthquake Identifying problems Identifying and using Resources Control and command Advance Preparatory Action Post earthquake activities The relief activities needed to be performed by the government are- Maintaining uninterrupted communication Endorsing disaster preparedness and relief measures through media like newspaper and AIR. Evacuating and movement of commodities of essence such as petroleum should be facilitated in transport. Making sure that essential commodities are available at a reasonable rate. Providing adequate supply of drugs, vaccine and medicine. Restoration and preservation of physical communication links. Providing infrastructure such as latrines, shelter, electricity, road etc. On a temporary basis by making the necessary investment. Mobilising financial resources. In addition to these aspects, there are certain secondary functions that are needed by the relief efforts of the State such as Military aid should provide relief, restoration and rehabilitation services to the civil authority. Backup plans for cattle preservation, crops and health measures should be put in place. Technological and technical inputs for providing drinking water. Providing technical assistance for water management, water budgeting and several other uses. Coordinating activities of the voluntary and state agencies. Knowledge Management The knowledge related activities are dealt taken care of by the knowledge management procedure (Wiig, 1997: Civi, 2000). These activities include organizations and creation of knowledge along with share and use of the knowledge. Knowledge management can be more appropriately defined as the strategies and processes of identifying, capturing and leveraging knowledge. This definition was provided by the American Productivity and Quality Centre. Knowledge management is a field on the rise which has been able to collect considerable attention especially from the industrial community. A large number of industrial organizations have taken to knowledge management programs which serve as proof of its widespread use. These programs are helpful in making the industries more competent and improving their organizational performance. It is only a matter of time when all the companies will adopt such a program and the only factor to be accounted for is the way in which it has to be implemented to m ake optimum use of knowledge management and managing it properly at the same time. Implementation of Knowledge Management The Knowledge Management concept has caught a lot of attention due to its importance but there are only a few industries that have been able to make optimum use of the knowledge management techniques by managing the knowledge in their respective organizations. Stoney and Barnett (2000) suggest that a major number of Knowledge Management steps are bound to fail. This is due to the fact that the implementation of Knowledge Management is not an easy task that can be carried out by an organization. Technological infrastructure needs to be in place for the implementation of Knowledge Management along with change in the culture of the organization and managing knowledge of different types. Organizations that have made use of the Knowledge Management without making certain of the necessary resources at their disposal have mainly failed due to improper infrastructure and implementation. Implementation of the Knowledge Management is a tough task for any organization as pointed out by Drucker (1993) who is known as the father of modern management theory. He stressed on the fact the biggest challenge faced by an organization is the building of a systematic framework for the management of knowledge. Hence, it is imperative to build a perfect prototype or framework which helps the organizations before the implementation of Knowledge Management. Framework definition According o the Oxford English Dictionary, (2003), the framework is defined as a structure composing of parts that are framed together especially designed for enclosing or supporting anything like a skeleton or a frame. Popper (1994) has defined framework as a set of assumptions or fundamental principles of intellectual origin that form the basis for action. In accordance with these definitions, framework can be said to be a framework or a structure formed using a set of specific instructions or principles that is required to provide a base for carrying out necessary activities and actions. Knowledge Management Frameworks According to Rubenstein-Montano et al. (2001b), Knowledge Management frameworks are categorized as a mode of providing guidance in a specific discipline. This means that it shows the way towards the building of Knowledge Management in a specific discipline completely. Dale (1999) defines framework as a tool used for the development and laying out of plans, a guide that helps an organization to carry out a certain action that works best for their business needs at their own pace. The framework most importantly acts as a link between the practical and theoretical aspects of the Knowledge Management and eases its implementation during an emergency or disaster. Various Knowledge Management frameworks The frameworks that have been described in theory are made to focus on different parts of Knowledge management and achieving its various purposes. The most popularly known framework is the framework for knowledge creation created by Nonaka (1991, 1994) that explains the evolution and conversion seen between tacit knowledge (not easy to articulate) and explicit knowledge (can be easily put into words). This is not the perfect form of a framework since it is only concerned with the creation of knowledge which is nothing more than a part of the Knowledge Management. Another type of framework that is described in theory is the one that provides information on cyclic processes of the Knowledge Management. From the studies of Rubenstein-Montano et al. (2001a), it is evident that many of these frameworks only provide activities that stress on the knowledge cycle activities. They lay importance on phases of knowledge without providing supervision in the implementation of Knowledge Management. The examples of such frameworks are plenty including the framework by Bose and Sugumaran (2003) and many of the frameworks that were studied by Rubenstein-Montano et al. (2001a). A third type of framework is the one developed by researchers that is used to explain the performance of Knowledge Management in an organization. The framework provides reference to shoe the analysis, structure and evaluation of the Knowledge Management in various organizations belonging to different fields. They were developed by Apostolou and Mentzas (1998). Framework requirements The framework helps in understanding, improving awareness and gives the conceptual definition of the Knowledge management that informs the people about the processes involved in it. Al the components can be understood with the help of a framework and puts the Knowledge Management in perspective by providing the people with a clear and concise vision which helps in its implementation. Managers find framework as a beneficial and important tool since it helps to decide whether all the aspects related to the Knowledge management have been covered that may be easily overlooked without the framework. It also helps in enabling the implementation process and helps coordinate the efforts put in by the organization in a controlled and systematic way. System Approach Framework Holsapple and Joshi (2002) laid out a three layer framework which consists of three major building blocks known as knowledge resources, activities and influences. The resources pat highlighted the pool of the knowledge of the organization that can be classified into six main forms of resources namely participants knowledge, infrastructure, culture, knowledge artefact, strategy and purpose. The activities block represents the processes to be used by the organization for manipulating the knowledge resources. Holsapple and Joshi (2002) were able to identify 4 activities related to this aspect namely acquiring, selecting, internalizing and using the knowledge which means the generation and externalization of knowledge. The manners in which these activities are performed tend to be influence by a number of factors that can be seen in the next block called as knowledge influences. The implementation is greatly influenced by this block and is classified into three categories namely resource (human, financial, material and knowledge), managerial (coordination, leadership and measurement) and environmental (customers, competitors, suppliers, markets and other conditions). The three aspects when viewed collectively act as the main components in the operation of Knowledge Management. A framework was created with the idea of four stages namely review, concept, reflect and act by Wiig et al. (1997) in order to explain a number of Knowledge Management techniques and methods. Review is the first step and relates to evaluating and monitoring the performance of the organization to find out whether the desired results have been obtained. Conceptualize has two parts namely analysis of knowledge and inventory knowledge. The former is used to identify and assess the problems, weakness, strengths threats and opportunities related to knowledge. The latter is used to find out the state of knowledge in the organization by finding out the knowledge assets. TH reflect part is used for the following- Create teams for assessing. Find out the Knowledge management requirements. Collect knowledge by identifying. Design structure to knowledge in warehouse. Maintain technology. Test the technology again. Train the knowledge workers. Show the use of Knowledge management practises. Track the usage. Get the system to start. Measure the productivity and quality, measure Knowledge Management practices. Conduct assessment review of the processes. Hygoyo Protocol Framework of Hyogo The priorities, mission and vision of the National Framework were created in synchronisation with the Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA) 1005-2015 that was agreed upon by all the nations in January 2005 in the city of Kobe, Japan during the UN-World conference held for Disaster Reduction. The expected result of the HFA after ten years is significant reduction in the lives and economic, social and environmental assets of the countries and communities. The following objectives have been adopted by HFA to attain the desired results- Better integration of disaster risk considerations and accordingly makes development policies. Planning at all the levels with focus on disaster prevention, preparedness, reduction and vulnerability reduction. The strengthening and development of institutes, capacities and mechanisms at all the levels especially at the community level that can help in building resistance to hazards. Incorporation risk mitigation approaches in the implementation of recovery programs, response and emergency preparedness that is used in rehabilitation of the affected communities. Scope This particular framework relates to provision of guidelines and direction to the national, local and provincial institutions. Aspects such as capacity building and vulnerability reduction are the crucial factors that help the communities and institutions to counter disaster risks. The strategies, policy implementation are taken care by this phase and programs for the parts of disaster are provided for. There are certain challenges that are recognized in the five major areas as follows- Governance- legal, organizational and policy frameworks. Risk identification. Monitoring, assessment and early warnings. Knowledge education and management. Reduction of risk factors. Preparedness to improve response and recovery. The Yokohama strategy concludes in its review the discussions in the World Conference on Disaster Reduction and the desired result that was decided can be described into five priorities of action as follows- Make sure disaster risk is a local and national priority with a very strong institutional base for execution. Identify, monitor and assess the disaster risks and identify early warnings. Use innovation, knowledge to build a safety culture which is strong at all the levels. Reduce the risk factors Make the disaster preparedness strong for better response. Case study of earthquake in Pakistan with respect to Knowledge Management The earthquake in Kashmir in 2005 was a massive earthquake with its epicentre in Pakistan controlled Kashmir close to the city of Muzaffarabad that affected the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilbit Baltistan province of Pakistan. It took place at 8:52:37 PST on the 8th of October. It was similar in size to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and 2001 earthquake in Gujarat with magnitude of 7.6. Tremors of this earthquake were felt in surrounding nations like western China and Tajikistan. Four people died in Afghanistan while close to fourteen hundred people died in India controlled Kashmir according to reports. The damage caused was blamed on poor construction and major up thrust. Infrastructure Network usage- the network usage was high throughout the phases of recovery. Data and voice communication was very good in Islamabad. The landline network was brought on track within a coupe of days in town hit by the earthquake and the cell network was extended post the earthquake. The areas that were hit the worst had no assistance and relief and were left with no communication. Some parts were wiped out entirely. The skills to manage the technology were available in Pakistan but the management was not properly planned. Network Availability- At first the network was very low during recovery and later was raised to a medium level. The inconsistency of connection was the main factor rather than low bandwidth. The connection would break consistently which proved to be disruptive. The limitations were known fully in the remote areas but the staff did not pay heed to the cell coverage problem. Cell phones are not adequate in such circumstances. Interoperability- This aspect worked at all times during recovery and it worked in the favour of national staff success. Communications technology staff had prior experience working for NGO and used their contacts in organizations to full effect. Data Information The information was inaccurate throughout the recovery. The situation reports were not reliable. The data was circulated internally and contained insufficient information related to needs such as fundraising, donors and advocacy. This resulted in various queries sought from the headquarters to the staff for more information. Another shortcoming was the information distribution. There was lack of communication with the UN that put the NGOs at a los since they did not know the plans put in place by UN and the problems they faced. The cluster approach by the UN shoed positive results in the initial four weeks for common approaches, joint analysis and programming. Some participants did not take part in the cluster group (Food, Water, Sanitation, Education and Health). The coordination was improved with the establishment of the District Relief and Recovery Committee with

Immanuel, Kant (1724-1804) Essay examples -- essays research papers

Immanuel Kant was born in 1724 in the East Prussian town of KÃ ¶nigsberg and lived there practically all his life. He came from a deeply pious Lutheran family, and his own religious convictions formed a significant background to his philosophy. Like Berkeley, he felt it was essential to preserve the foundations of Christian belief. Kant became Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at the University of KÃ ¶nigsberg in 1770 and taught there for most of his life. He was also greatly interested in science and published works on astronomy and geophysics. His three most significant works were published later in life. The Critique of Pure Reason came out in 1781, followed in 1788 by the Critique of Practical Reason and in 1790 by the Critique of Judgment. The Critique of Pure Reason is one of the most important works in the whole of philosophy. Unfortunately it is also one of the most unreadable - Kant himself described it as dry and obscure. Kant had generally been an outgoing and friendly man but towards the end of his life his mental faculties and his sight deteriorated badly. He died a shadow of his former self, aged 80. One of his most quoted sayings is carved on his gravestone in KÃ ¶nigsberg: "Two things fill my mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe, the more often and the more intensely the reflection dwells on them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me". IDEAS Kant believed that there are clear limits to what we can know. You could perhaps say that the mind's "glasses" set these limits. The philosophers before Kant had discussed the really "big" questions - for instance, whether man has an immortal soul, whether there is a God, whether nature consists of tiny indivisible particles, and whether the universe is finite or infinite. Kant believed there was no certain knowledge to be obtained on these questions. In such great philosophical questions, he thought that reason operates beyond the limits of what we humans can comprehend. At the same time there is in our nature a basic desire to pose these questions. When, for example, we ask whether the universe has always existed, we are asking about a totality of which we ourselves are a tiny part. We can therefore never completely know this totality. According to Kant there are two elements that contribute to our knowledge of the world - sensory perception and re... ...etimes you might only be kind and helpful to others because you know it pays off. It could be a way of becoming popular. But if this is your only motive you are not acting out of respect for moral law. You might be acting in accordance with moral law - and that could be fair enough - but if it is to be a moral action, you must have conquered yourself. Only when you do something purely out of duty can it be called a moral action. Kant's ethics is therefore sometimes called duty ethics. Kant also advocated the establishment of a "league of nations". In his treatise Perpetual Peace, he wrote that all countries should unite in order to assure peaceful coexistence between nations. He believed that man's "practical reason" would force the nations to emerge from the wild state of nature which creates wars, and make a contract to keep the peace. Kant recognised that this would take time to achieve but he saw it as our duty to work for the universal and lasting securing of peace. About 125 years after the appearance of Kant's treatise in 1795, the League of Nations was founded, after the First World War. After the Second World War it was replaced by the United Nations.

Internet Pornography: Solving Elusive Problem Essay

No one can deny the immeasurable benefits of the internet to the society as a whole. It is a limitless source of information that offers an array of helpful, constructive and educational material for people of all ages. However, like anything else, it does not come with benefits alone. Internet is highly susceptible to bring harm to users in general, and children and minors in particular, through its free and immense exposure to pornography. However small a content of the Internet on the whole this maybe, it is bound to bring a greater harm to the young minds as well as adult, than the benefits from the largely available advantageous information. This paper will examine the extent of this harm with support of latest research and literature, and the latest methods from a state and local level that are being used to combat the pervasiveness and easy access to the internet porn. Body of Paper The internet was originally built by the US military as a means of nuclear-assault-proof communication. The universities soon saw the value of a worldwide communication network and researchers from across the world began to distribute their work with contemporaries. But hackers began to break into the system so that eventually, for a small fee, it was decided to launch the network to all comers. Soon it was spread throughout the world at increasingly less cost and effort. The flow of information, knowledge and experiences thus shared was immense and of great value and benefit. However the information and content so readily available at this network has not necessarily been educational and enlightening. There is material sexually explicit in nature including pornography of all genders including children. The ironic part is that all such material is available freely without ant sort of restriction, in just a matter of keyboard punches. The internet users have a great number of children and minors who supposedly access to the internet for research and educational purposes. These children are conveniently exposed to such explicit materials, which harm their young minds and caste detrimental effects on their psychology. According to a study conducted by London School of Economics in year 2004, the children of age even as less as nine, are falling victims to the negative face of Internet every time they use it. The even more problematic element is the ignorance of parents of the risks associated with such a damaging issue. This study surveyed 1,100 children of ages between nine and nineteen and found that almost sixty percent of these regular Internet users frequently fell prey to the hurtful explicit material of pornography. Below are the key findings of this survey: ? â€Å"Nearly six in 10 have come into contact with online pornography. ? 38 per cent have seen a pornographic popup advert while doing something else. ? 36 per cent have accidentally found a pornographic website. ? 25 per cent have received pornographic junk mail by email or text. 10 per cent have visited a pornographic website on purpose. † (The Evening Standard, 2004, Pg. 6) In an article by Azy Barak and William A. Fisher (2001), the widespread porn on the internet and its progressive trend has been pointed out. â€Å"Current reports indicate variously that the online pornography industry will gross $366 million by 2001 (Spenger, 1999) or that it already grosses in excess of $1 billion (â€Å"Blue Money,† 1999), and reports indicate that a spectacular 69% of all e-commerce involves the purchase of sexual materials (â€Å"Blue Money,† 1999). Other sources report that 15% of all Internet users accessed one of the top five â€Å"Adult† websites in a recent month (Cooper et al, 1999), that sex is the most frequently searched topic on the Internet (Freeman-Longo & Blanchard, 1998), and that all of the top eight word searches on the Internet involve pornography (Sparrow & Griffiths, 1997). † (Barak and Fisher (2001)) The social and psychological effects of such ever more and cheaply accessible pornography on the minds of individuals, both adult and children is devastating. Such explicit images and videos contaminate the mentality and psyche leading towards appalling actions and exploitations. After engaging into extensive viewing of pornography, people get even more provoked and feel an even more intense need for sex. In order to satisfy such needs, people do incline towards forceful attempts, with both opposite genders and the same, even with children. According to an estimate, the attempts and incidents of rape in the United States rose substantially during 1995 to 1999. â€Å"This time interval is by all accounts a period of exponential growth in the availability and use of all forms of Internet sexually explicit materials (Cheney, 2000; Elmer-Dewitt, 1995; Freeman-Longo, 2000; Harmon & Boeringer, 1996; Mehta & Plaza, 1998; Rimm, 1995; Wysocki, 1998). † (Barak and Fisher (2001))

Shakespeare Greatest Playwright of All

William Shakespeare: Greatest Playwright of All William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was a British poet and playwright, he was well known as the greatest writer of all time, he was often called the â€Å"Bard of Avon†. Although many facts of his life remain unknown, his poems and plays are unique and have timeless theme that touch everyone’s heart, and are still widely studied and performed in today’s society. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, England enjoyed a time of prosperity and stability that led to a new era for England.Shakespeare’s works epitomize arts of the Elizabethan Epoch; through his uses of beautiful and poetic language, iambic pentameter is nearly always used in his style of poetry. Shakespeare wrote about timeless themes about the human nature surrounded themes of true love, revenge, power-lust, ambition, anger, war, etc, they are not only appealed to the people of Elizabethan England, but also provide a reference for life in his time for us to view the contemporary society. Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon Avon in Warwickshire and was baptized on April 26, 1564.His father was a wool merchant and his mother was the daughter of a landowner. The next documented event was his marriage when he was 18 years old to Anne Hathaway who was 26 years old at that time, and they had three children. There was another gap where some scholars referred to as â€Å"the lost years†, then he was working in a theatre in London in 1592. Shakespeare wrote his very first play, Henry VI, Part One in 1589-90, and in  1590-91, Shakespeare wrote Henry VI, Part Two and Henry VI, Part III. Shakespeare's poetry appeared before his plays, his narrative poems Venus and Adonis as his first ever publication in 1593.Then Shakespeare wrote plays began to be noticed by the public, and sooner became popular. During the Renaissance in Europe there was a great innovation of science; the Church had lost some of the corruptive power that once held over Europe, and people were again free to look back upon the pagan scholars and writers of Greece and Rome. Plays by playwrights such as Euripides, Plautus, and Seneca which were once banned by the Church were once again being read and performed. Likewise, the cultural stories of the people were once again being told in public, and playwrights, including Shakespeare, were widely performed.An good example would be Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare used ancient Celtic and Greek mythological figures such as Puck, Oberon, Theseus and placed them in a different time and place, but with their original characteristics. Other plays, such as Romeo and Juliet make references to popular mythological figures like Queen Mab to make the story fit better into their world. Since people of all classes attended plays, playwrights needed to use stories, characters and words that would appeal to everyone.England in the time before the reign of Elizabeth I was under a state of religious turmoil . When Elizabeth I ascended to the throne, she banned the performances all religious plays and stories (except in Church) to help stop the violence over religion. Popular plays were   not longer be performed, and playwrights were now free to concentrate on secular stories. They still contained some elements of religion, as did everyday life in Elizabethan England, but it was not the primary focus, nor did it play a particularly important part of the story.Conventions from Medieval religious theatre found its way into Elizabethan Theatre, however, and Shakespeare made good use of them during their performances, such as using the trap door for the gravediggers’ scene in Hamlet. The Hellmouth and trapdoor, which had been a staple of Medieval Theatres continued to be used, and were built into the permanent theatre structures used in the performances of Elizabethan plays. Shakespeare’s histories, such as Henry V, were a tribute to the Monarch and to the country.Many playw rights and other artists paid homage to their patrons, including Shakespeare. By writing about the glories of England and her former rulers he was paying homage to Queen Elizabeth and England. Since the arts were kept alive by patrons, it was best not to anger one and lose your support. Shakespeare sometimes, such as in Hamlet, criticized the Monarchy, but in a way that would not be obvious or outwardly treasonous. He spoke his mind, but also paid lip service to keep money coming from his patron. Shakespeare was a very prolific writer, because his writings are not totally original.He had help with many of his plays from other writers and actors, such as Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593), resulted people doubting that he himself wrote his plays. King Lear is based on a Celtic myth, and Hamlet is a retelling of earlier versions of the same story. Elizabethan plays use stock-type characters like those found in Comedia Del’Arte and Roman plays, and actors would specialize in specif ic types of roles. The English Renaissance Theatre played a significant part of Elizabethan theatre and Shakespeare's playwright career. The theatre has a proscenium-arch stage, and seatings on hree tiers (stalls, circle and balcony). Shakespeare first worked for Lord Strange's Men in The Rose, it is London’s most historic Elizabethan Theatre on Bankside and a home to many of Shakespeare’s and Marlowe’s first production. When the Globe was built, He worked for the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was also part owner of the Globe itself. People in Elizabethan England were very concerned with the humour, which was a form of medicine and psychology. Shakespeare makes references to them all over in his plays. Hamlet is portrayed as being to Melancholic, with his humours out of balance, and one was dominant over the others.This is not psychology as we know it today, and was why the people from Elizabethan Era believed people were the way they were. Shakespeare used this b elief to make his characters not only believable, but also understandable to his audience. Shakespeare’s works are the greatest representation of art from Elizabethan England politically, economically, and socially. No other art form, including painting, could provide so much information about life in Elizabethan England, we can see the ideas, thoughts, languages, customs, etc throughout his plays. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets and 37 plays in total, including tragedy, comedy, and history.The Four Great Tragedies were his greatest achievement as a playwright, and are greatly studied in English literature, performed in theatre, and made into several films; include Romeo and Juliet (1594), the timeless tale of young lovers whose names were synonymous with star-crossed romance; Hamlet (1600), the revenge drama centering on the introspective Prince of Denmark; Othello (1604), a story of gallant soldier and loving husband was undone by jealousy ; and Macbeth (1605), known as †Å"The Scottish Play†, concerning a nobleman's overweening ambition.These plays focused on powerful central characters with outstanding personal qualities, and the antagonists were their own strengths,   their family, and the society, which would not allow then to get what they wanted. For example, Romeo and Juliet sought for true love, but they were forbidden to love each other because their families were  mortal enemies, and the story ended tragically where Romeo drugged himself and Juliet stabbed herself with a dagger.Audience of all times are   appalled at this paradox and at the inexorability of his characters' fate in which because part of our human nature and the cruelty of our society, we don't always get what we desired deeply. Other tragedies include Julius Caesar (1599), King Lear (1604), Timon of Athens (1607), etc. Comedies include  Merchant of Venice (1596),  Midsummer Night's Dream 1595),  Twelfth Night (1599),  Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594), etc.H istory includes  Henry IV, Part I (1597),  Henry IV, Part II (1597),  Henry V (1598),  Henry VI, Part I (1591),  Henry VI, Part II (1590),  Henry VI, Part III (1590),  Henry VIII (1612),  Richard II (1595),  Richard III (1592), King John, etc. Iambic pentameter is meter that Shakespeare nearly used when writing in verse. The reason why Shakespeare's works are always extraordinary is because most of his plays were written in iambic pentameter, except for lower-class characters who speak in prose.Iambic Pentameter has ten syllables in each line, five pairs of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables. Some examples of Shakespearean Iambic Pentameter is â€Å"Two households, both alike in dignity. â€Å", â€Å"In fair Verona, where we lay our scene. â€Å", â€Å"But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? â€Å", etc. Shakespeare's influence continued to impact the society today, his  plays are being performed constantly throughout the world.Ever y day, one of his plays is being performed somewhere, and probably more than one place. More than 410 feature-length film and TV versions of Shakespeare's plays or adaption, have been produced, making Shakespeare the most filmed author ever in any language, including Romeo and Juliet (1968), Romeo+Juliet (1996), West Side Story (1961), Gnomeo and Juliet (2011), Othello (1965), Othello (1995), Macbeth (1948), The Tragedy of Macbeth (1971), etc.Some films used Shakespeare as a character, such as  Shakespeare in Love (1998) is a fictional love story about Shakespeare's romance with a noblewoman, at the time of writing Romeo and Juliet. Many universities offer courses on Shakespeare, such as Shakespeare Studies MA from University of Birmingham, Shakespeare special subject courses from University of Cambridge, Shakespeare and Films from University of Notre Dame, Shakespeare Studies from Boston College, etc.

Basking Shark Winter Migration

Basking Shark Winter Migration Shark scientists have questioned basking shark migration for decades since an article in 1954 proposed that basking sharks, which were hardly seen once cold weather hit, hibernated on the ocean bottom during the winter. A tagging study released in 2009 finally revealed that basking sharks head south in the winter, further than scientists ever dreamed. The basking sharks that spend their summers in the western North Atlantic are not seen in that area once the weather cools. It was once thought that these sharks might spend their winters on the ocean bottom, in a state similar to hibernation. Scientists finally got a handle on this question in a study published in 2009 online in Current Biology. Researchers from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and their colleagues fitted 25 sharks off of Cape Cod with tags that recorded depth, temperature and light levels. The sharks swam on their way, and by wintertime, the scientists were surprised to find them crossing the equator - some even went all the way to Brazil. While in these southern latitudes, the sharks spent their time in deep water, ranging from about 650 to 3200 feet deep. Once there, the sharks remained for weeks to months at a time. Eastern North Atlantic Basking Sharks Studies on basking sharks in the UK have been less conclusive, but the Shark Trust reports that the sharks are active all year and during the winter, they migrate to deeper waters offshore and also shed and re-grow their gill rakers. In a study published in 2008, a female shark was tagged for 88 days (July-September 2007) and swam from the UK to Newfoundland, Canada. Other Basking Shark Mysteries Even though the mystery of where Western North Atlantic basking sharks go during the winter has been solved, we still dont know why. Gregory Skomal, the lead scientist in the study, said that it doesnt seem to make sense for the sharks to travel that far south, as suitable temperatures and feeding conditions can be found closers, such as off of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. One reason might be to mate and give birth. This is a question that may take awhile to answer, as nobody has ever seen a pregnant basking shark, or even seen a baby basking shark.

A Comparison between the Devil and Tom Walker, and Macbeth Essays

A Comparison between the Devil and Tom Walker, and Macbeth Essays A Comparison between the Devil and Tom Walker, and Macbeth Paper A Comparison between the Devil and Tom Walker, and Macbeth Paper Comparison Essay As the reader or audience members read the book, â€Å"The Devil Tom Walker† and the play Macbeth , you tend to visualize the comparison between the two authors. The most common theme used by both Shakespeare and Irving is greed. In which Greed is the intense and selfish desire for something, such as wealth, food, power or excessively or inordinate desire for wealth, and profit. Throughout the book â€Å"The Devil Tom Walker† and in the play Macbeth you can see the theme of greed in which was the themes that both Irving and Shakespeare betrayed in their text. An example or display of greed was shown in the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare introduced the reader to this in act four, â€Å"And my more having would be as a sauce to make me hunger more: that I should forge Quarrels unjust against the good and loyal, destroying them for wealth†(Shakespeare 158). This piece of textual evidence from the play Macbeth was used to emphasize the theme of greed in the play, by basically stating that greed feeds on itself while in the process of achieving a certain desire. Malcolm is stating that he would become evil, and destroy the good and loyal to achieve success or wealth in life. Irving just like Shakespeare also used greed as a theme in his book entitled â€Å"The Devil Tom Walker. † Washington Irving presented the audience with the greedy character named Tom Walker, who showed signs of greed. The novel author states, â€Å"he had also a great folio bible on his counting house desk, and would frequently be found reading it when people came on business;occasions he would lay his green spectacles on the book, to mark the place, while he turned round to drive some usurious bargain† (Washington 5). Tom was a very greedy individual because he would read a bible and then in the process he would lay his green glasses down on the bible, so he could make a deal with a client. Tom Walker would close deals with the bible in his coat pocket. Also the green glasses used by Irving Washington symbolize the proper definition of the word greed, because green resembles money. He is trying to read the bible to find a loop hole in it so he can make a good bargain and that would allow him to make money, Tom would do just about anything to have the wealth of money. Even if that meant that he would have to be more evil or greedier than the Old Scratch. The theme greedy was very important to both authors Irving and Shakespeare, because it was used as a type of moral or theme throughout both the play and novel to portray the essential signs of greediness. As both authors demonstrate this, they also show how greed is an ongoing process that can’t be stopped, because it’s an uncontrollable desire for a particular want or need in life. In fact both authors defined the word greed very well in their pieces of work, by describing greed as a desire or want that an individual would forfeit all the good things in his or her life to commit to evil doings which in a sense is the process of being greedy.